Lewin & Sagara LLP

About Lewin & Sagara LLP

Lewin & Sagara LLP is a two-lawyer firm on Danforth Avenue in Toronto's east end, and each lawyer runs a distinct practice under one roof. Paul Lewin has practiced criminal defence in Toronto and across Canada for more than 30 years, and the practice now focuses on cannabis and psychedelics law, both defending people charged with drug offences and advising businesses in the regulated cannabis and psychedelics sector. Julie Sagara handles wills, powers of attorney, and estate administration, a practice built over 12 years of exclusive focus on that area, following earlier work as an Estate and Trust Advisor at MD Private Trust, planning estates for physicians and their families and serving as a corporate executor.

Lewin's cannabis and psychedelics work has included constitutional litigation, among them a challenge over medical marijuana access brought by Matt Mernaugh and a religious freedom case involving the Church of the Universe. Lewin is the lawyer bringing an Ontario Court of Appeal case arguing that psilocybin use should be protected as freedom of thought under the Charter, and was one of the lawyers on Hartle et al. v. HMTK, representing the late Thomas Hartle, one of the first Canadians granted legal medical psilocybin access. Lewin also advocates for cannabis law reform with NORML Canada, while Sagara runs free workshops and legal clinics on wills and estate planning.